


wild stars

by laehys



Series: eyes full of stars [1]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Established Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Qian Kun, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Pre-Poly, space cottagecore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-17 20:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28855332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laehys/pseuds/laehys
Summary: Ten was a traveler. A wanderer. He thrived on meeting new people, learning new cultures, and discovering new planets and their hiding places. But, when it all comes crashing down around him, Ten finds a place that, maybe, he’d been searching for his entire life.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Qian Kun
Series: eyes full of stars [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2140218
Comments: 13
Kudos: 77
Collections: Challenge #4 — Awaken The World





	wild stars

**Author's Note:**

> this is written for the 4th round of a little wonder fest!  
> hope u guys like it!!
> 
> thank u for my baby _mash_ for reading over this and helping me come up with this universe <3 u helped me so much!!!! so so much!!! and i can't thank u enough <33  
> to the mods for keeping this fest going and always working so hard  
> and everyone else who gave me some input and listened to my ramblings hdjhhdsj

"Relax... you're okay. You're safe now."

Ten gasps. His eyes are closed tight together, brows furrowed. Bright lights and galaxies swim behind his eyelids, flickering colorful specks making his head all dizzy. He's falling — his hands try to clutch at something around him, to steady and hold him into place, but Ten can't find something next to him to dig his fingers in, and he doesn't want to open his eyes to stare at the bottom of his spaceship, to stare at the darkness of the universe and his undeniable end.

"Can you open your eyes? Can you do that for me?"

His fingers hurt and his hands are sweating too much to let him have a good grip — and with that Ten realizes he _is_ holding something. Being aware of that seems to unlock something inside his mind, and now he can feel it against his palm: it's soft, a little rough in some places, warm, and it's still against his own hand; even when Ten's hands sweat, it doesn't slip away.

"Is he okay?"

"The fever has mostly broken down. I think he'll make it through this."

"Ah, those are good news... I brought some more of those blue leaves for his wounds."

"Thank you, darling."

His joints hurt and his body aches in places he didn't think could ever be possible. There's a fog inside his head and Ten tries to walk through it. He wants to open his eyes and take a look around his surroundings, but the fear of seeing death right in the face makes him unable to pry open his eyelids. He's certain he'll only see darkness and stars around him — the never-ending universe mocking him that there's no way he can come back from this. A mistake, a slip of hands, a shortcoming — and now his end.

His ears ring with the sound of alarms, the whistling noise of the wind, his own little heart beating fast — so impossibly fast — against his ribcage, almost drowning all of his other senses.

He gasps again when he feels something tighten around his hand, a pressure that shows up out of nowhere and leaves after a second.

"Can you hear my voice? Can you move your hand?"

From among the shrill noise of alarms beeping, the sound of emergency messages popping up on his screen, Ten can hear something else; it's a little soft, almost as if it comes from a place very far away and out of reach, almost as if it could get lost in the middle of all the pandemonium going on around him, but still—still Ten hears it. It calls for him, it makes his fingers tingle, and it holds him tight.

"Come on, you can do it... You can get through this... I know you can."

Ten wheezes painfully before opening his eyes wide, his body lurching forward in one motion. There's too much happening around him at the same time — no darkness of space, sunshine pouring from somewhere to his left side, a pressure on his right hand, a stinging sensation running through his entire body, the sound of alarms beeping mixed with a gentle voice.

And then his back meets something soft, his shoulders being pushed back, and Ten can only let his body be guided, his vision faltering as colorful spots appear and disappear in the corner of his eyes, his heart racing against his ribcage — fast, so fast that it leaves him breathless and panting.

"Hey... Calm down. You've made it." Ten blinks twice before he can concentrate on the voice, on the face hovering over his, on the set of dimples that are part of a soft smile. He tries to open his mouth, but it's hard to move or control his own body. The face above his blinks in and out of focus. "You're safe now."

🌌

Though his legs don't hurt as much as they did weeks ago, Ten still hisses in discomfort when he tries to stand up, his knees buckling and legs threatening to give out underneath his weight. He scrambles to find a place to hold himself up, hands splayed open on the edge of the bed, trying to grip the sheets so he wouldn't slip to the floor again and stay unmoving there, waiting for someone to help him up.

This time, the door of his room is wide open and a gasp soon is heard from the doorway. " _Ten!_ "

Hurried steps sound out and Ten immediately notes the anxious voice. _Doyoung_ , his mind supplies. _Maybe he won't tell Kun this time._ Doyoung's long and thin fingers hold him up by the biceps and help move his tired body back to the bed, letting him sit propped up against the headboard.

"Ten... You know you aren't supposed to try and move all by yourself... If you want something, you just need to call me!"

Ten huffs. It's annoying and a hassle to depend on other people when he could do everything by himself before — it was him and the universe at the tip of his fingers; anything was a possibility as long as he wished for it. And now... now he can't even _walk_.

"I know, I know... I just—just wanted to go... to the window... Don't tell—Kun..."

He hates how just that already leaves him breathless and panting, body hurting in new and old places. He doesn't want to be a nuisance. He doesn't want to depend on others.

Doyoung, though, only raises one eyebrow. He cocks his hip to the side, pressing his lips tight together before exhaling through his nose, probably swallowing another endless ranting.

Ten found out that it's easy to rile Doyoung up — at least, easier than it was with Kun. Doyoung would take any words he spewed out and would try to answer back in the same tone, to stay on the same level and to not let him win easily. It made Ten absolutely mad and he loved how it kept the boredom away from his mind. It was something that entertained him and, even when they bickered, Doyoung would leave the room with a small smile on his face and holding no grudges.

"But you can't _just_ get up," Doyoung answers easily, and Ten bristles, getting ready to say something when Doyoung lifts a hand and continues talking, his voice gaining a softer edge to it, "and you can end up seriously injured because of that. What if you fell on the floor and bumped your head? And we didn't found you until it was too late?"

"You'd eventually find me—"

"You've been getting so much better, Ten," Doyoung continues talking, and Ten swallows down the bitter taste that rises on the back of his throat. "Don't let it all go to waste. Call us if you need anything. Just a little more and then you'll be up and doing whatever you want, whenever you wish... Okay?"

Begrudgingly, Ten nods. He knows that Doyoung is right and he should be careful even though he's itching to just... get up and walk around. To explore. To see around. Being stuck inside that room, with just some random visits to the outside world, is a pain in the ass and he can't wait for it to end.

"Can we go to the garden today?" He asks, looking down to the bed. He doesn't like the vulnerable tone in his voice, doesn't like how he must depend on others, but he also knows when he needs to swallow his pride. Even if just a little bit.

"Of course," Doyoung replies quickly, his hand resting on Ten's shoulder and squeezing it gently. That makes Ten lift up his gaze, and even though he bites the inside of his cheek to contain himself, Doyoung's eyes are gentle and bright, a smile curling up on his lips, and all of that makes Ten smile back too. "When Kun comes back we can go. He should be arriving shortly."

Doyoung leaves the bedroom before patting down the sheets over Ten's body, but it's not long before he's back with a plate in his hands.

"What's that?" Ten asks, looking carefully at the purple mushy-looking thing.

Doyoung makes a little noise from the back of his throat, sitting on the edge of Ten's bed, and pushes the mushy thing around with a fork. "It's not very pretty but it tastes sweet and it's good for your body. Here, have a try."

Kun arrives a while later. By then, the plate is empty and Ten's belly is full. It surprised him how sweet it really was, and though Doyoung had brought the plate for them to share, Ten had been the one to eat most of it.

With a quick knock against the open door, Kun leans against the doorway, a grin on his face and sweaty hair pushed back from his forehead. "Hello, my darling," he says, eyes all soft and full of adoration for Doyoung. "And you too, Ten. How are you feeling today?"

Ten gulps. He doesn't want to lie straight to Kun's face and yet—he doesn't want to disappoint him and say how he almost fell because he tried, once again, to get up all by himself.

"He's been doing okay," Doyoung speaks up, patting Ten's thigh over the sheets. Ten's heart stutters into place and he swallows dryly, feeling his throat all parched up. "Gave him some of the sunset berries... And he wants to visit the garden too."

That comment makes Kun's eyebrows rise up. "Oh, that's nice. I'll freshen up and we can go watch the moon. Is that okay?"

When Doyoung turns to face him, Ten freezes in place for a second, having the attention of them both on him at the same time. They wait for his answer and Ten says a " _Yes_ " that's enough to make Kun leave, him lifting up his shirt just before he leaves their vision, letting Ten catch a glimpse of his back for less than a second before he was fully gone.

On his side, Doyoung lifts up from the bed, groaning a little when his back makes a cracking noise, quietly muttering to himself, "Oh, fucking _hell_. My _back._ "

🌌

With hair still wet and a shirt that clings to his arms, Kun opens the doors for Doyoung who lifts Ten up.

"You can walk faster," Ten says, very self-aware of how much time they were taking to leave the house.

"It's okay, I don't want to jostle you around."

It's not a long way to the garden. Ten is pretty sure one would take less than a minute to get there, even if all the doors were closed, but Doyoung and Kun are so careful while holding him and bringing him outside that it takes a lot longer.

Kun puts down a piece of fabric over the purple grass and helps Doyoung settle Ten down, their moves so careful that it makes Ten want to roll his eyes and just jump from Doyoung's arm to hurry everything up.

When they finish and sit down on the ratty fabric, Ten takes a deep breath, eyes closing as he looks up to the sky, feeling the breeze making his hair and clothes ruffle. The air isn't cold, but it still makes goosebumps spread over his body and, when he blinks his eyes open, the first thing that graces his sight are the two round moons that are always up in the sky.

The view always leaves him breathless and he can't look away from that until Doyoung murmurs from his side, "It's very pretty, right? I can never get used to all of this. Every time I come outside and see everything around here, I'm just glad we could find this place and make it our home."

_We._ When Ten looks away from the moons and the rapidly changing sky — blue turning into orange and pink, pink turning into purple and blue —, he sees that Doyoung's hand is caressing the top of Kun's knuckles and they're looking at each other.

Ten feels like he's intruding into a private moment; Kun pulls Doyoung's hand up and brushes a soft kiss on the inside of his wrist before his gaze turns to the side and fixates on Ten, lips still grazing the soft skin of Doyoung's wrist. "Even though you're still healing, we've very happy you're here, Ten. That you're safe and getting better now... Just rest a little more and you'll be up in no time, you'll see."

Doyoung turns his head a little to the side, cheek squishing adorably against his shoulder, eyes squinting to see Ten's form against the setting sun. "And when you can walk again, I'll show you the woods and all the flowers and everything else... So make sure you get healthy, okay?"

"Yeah, don't try to rush through the process," Kun adds, his tone teasing.

Doyoung immediately turns his head away, but Ten can see his ear getting red, and he just _knows_ that Doyoung had told Kun about his almost tumble from earlier.

So Ten grunts a little positive noise, just enough to make them satisfied.

He can't wait until he can walk again. Kun had told him that his spaceship — his beautiful, shiny, and amazing baby — had been badly destroyed from his crashing and would need lots of repairs, so Ten feels like he's almost vibrating out of his skin to start working on his baby and make it able to fly again. He doesn't doubt there's a lot of work to do.

And though Kun and Doyoung constantly remind him that there's no hurry, that he can stay around for as long as he wants to, Ten feels restless.

He's not used to staying in the same place for more than one week, to let himself grow attached to people he'll eventually leave behind as he goes in search of his new galactic adventure. He doesn't want to be vulnerable, to open himself to possible hurt and goodbyes laced with pain and sorrow — and nothing like that can ever happen if he just fucking _leaves quick_.

But he can't.

"Can you see that glowing in the distance?" Doyoung's voice brings Ten back to the present and he blinks, looking in the direction where Doyoung is pointing.

"Yeah, why?"

It's an open field on their right side, purple grass until where the eye can see, and, right at the horizon, where purple grass meets the darkening sky, there's something that glows faintly.

"Those flowers shine when the stars are out," Doyoung answers. "They're edible though very bland. But they're pretty. And can guide you through the woods at night if you need."

"Do they have a name?" Ten asks, narrowing his eyes to try and see better.

Doyoung opens his mouth to answer, but Kun's quicker, " _Doyoung's flowers_ ," he says, and Doyoung lets out an embarrassed noise. "Doyoungie really likes them, but they're tricky because you need to be careful with their roots, so they might not glow after you take them out."

"We don't know the name of the things here," Doyoung answers, trying to control the talk and change subjects, his cheeks flushing pink, "so we just name them however we want to."

Kun chuckles. "Get well soon so we can choose some flowers to name after you too."

Ten clears his throat, staring at the horizon. The stars shine bright and the two moons are more than enough to bathe them in the moonlight. "Y-yeah."

🌌

There's a bouquet of glowy white flowers on the table and Ten sees how Kun can't look away from them, fingers brushing against their petals.

"It's been a long time since I gifted him some that actually glowed... Did you know that?" Ten didn't know that. Still, his heart beats fast against his chest and he looks to the side for a second. Kun looks so fondly at the flowers that it makes his entire body ache. "Doyoungie will be very happy with the surprise."

Ten nods. Doyoung had been away for the past two days, hunting and gathering enough supplies for Ten to be able to make the journey until the next planet, while Kun had been packing and filling Ten's spaceship with ointments and pastes in case he ever found himself in need.

"I hope so..."

"He will." When Ten turns to face him, he finds that Kun is already looking at him, eyes always sharp, always looking after something. "You know you will always have a place here, right? Don't just forget us as soon as you're back into the stars, okay?" Kun finishes with a forced chuckle and Ten tries to crack open a smile, though it mostly comes out as a grimace.

"Of course," he answers. "How could I?"

How could he even ignore everything that he went through the past weeks? Not only his body had new scars and his spaceship looked rough, but when he looked up at the sky, doubt would rise to the surface just as much as his wanderlust. His body longed for the thrill of unknown adventures just as much as it longed to stay under the two moons and among the yellowed trees and glowy flowers.

"Come back to us after you travel around, so you can give us a ride on your ship," Kun says, walking towards the sink, his shirt rolled up to his elbows, his back towards Ten. When he looks over his shoulder, he sends a smile that makes Ten bite the inside of his cheek. "Come back again to teach me how you managed to handle these flowers on your first try. Maybe we could try to plant them in our garden, close to our house."

_House_ is a broken spaceship that was refurbished — but it was home for them.

"It would look very pretty," Ten croaks out.

Kun hums and turns back to the sink, head low. "Yeah, it would.”

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading <3
> 
> [ [twt](https://twitter.com/pinkhrj) | [ccat](https://curiouscat.me/rensungie) ]


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